Limitations
by zany.dancing
Summary: Everyone has a limit to just how much chasing and promising they can do before they rather death. SasuNaruSasu. Yaoi.


**Title**: Limitations

**Prompt**: It's all over. Track one

**Fandom**: Naruto

**Character/Pairing**: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

**Rating**: PG-13

**Completed**: 1/13

**Beta**: Corrupted-Phoenix on who is also techno-beat on LJ. :D Thank-you Fufu 33

**Comments/Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto, though, I wish I did.

**Summary**: Everyone has a limit to just how much chasing and promising they can do before they rather death. SasuNaruSasu. Yaoi.

_"I know what runs through your blood. You do this all in vain. Because of you my mind is always racing."_

**Limitations**

He had waited so long for this. Every moment he was imagining their meeting and now, it was time. Finally it was time for his imagination to stop running and for reality to step in to take its place.

Eyes locked.

_Sasuke._ His mind screamed as he saw the young Uchiha, who had grown taller, got a new attire but still, still he looked like the same person. The same person Naruto so desperately wanted to save. Silence hung in the air as the two men, not boys any longer but men stared each other down. Their gazes were equally steady, equally flickering with an endless array of emotions, each stronger than the last. Sasuke's eyes had _that_ flicker, the flicker that reminded Naruto that Sasuke was only human.

"Sasuke." Naruto spoke quietly and calmly. Though that single word held so much emotion, it also seemed cracked and stained, as though Naruto was in agony when he said it. And he was. Just saying Sasuke's name just brought back so many memories. Too many.

No verbal response came from Sasuke, only a pair of dark eyes that threatened to bore holes into the other man's head. Naruto's heart pounded madly in his chest as he waited for Sasuke to do something, anything. He didn't know what to expect from Sasuke now. After all, it had been five years since their last meeting.

He couldn't help but wonder if he even really knew the Uchiha anymore.

"Why are you here?" Though the question was bluntly presented, its edges were sharp. Naruto flinched at Sasuke's question, not because of how Sasuke said it but because of what he said. Sasuke knows exactly why Naruto's here. Naruto doesn't grin, he refuses too. He won't be distracted this time; this time he'll bring Sasuke back. It'll end this time.

"You know why I'm here, Sasuke. To bring you back." Naruto answered forcefully, trying his hardest to get across that he wasn't kidding. He had waited to long and spent too much time chasing after Sasuke to let him go now.

Then, something happened that Naruto didn't expect, something he didn't expect at all. Sasuke's eyes placated, and softly, yet somehow very firmly, Sasuke said one single word.

"Dobe."

Naruto wasn't sure why it struck him so badly when he heard Sasuke call him that. It felt like a slap in the face, with a sting so harsh that it would linger on for longer than it should. Maybe it was because he hadn't heard his old nickname in so long from the Uchiha's lips. Wide-eyed, Naruto stared at Sasuke, not quite understanding where Sasuke was going with this.

Sasuke looked up at Naruto, agony and mild curiosity reflecting in his eyes. And of course, the flicker remained. "Why?" Sasuke asked, before he added, "Why do you continue to chase after me? Naruto, it's been over seven years."

Surprised by the question, Naruto blinked, letting the question fully sink in. How was he supposed to answer that? He had always been chasing after Sasuke. Chasing after him had just become so normal to him. Even before Sasuke left, Naruto had been chasing him. He was always running behind him, trying to catch up, trying to reach him.

"...Sasuke. I'll always chase you, no matter what." Naruto let every particle of truth he possessed to seep into those words. He'd follow Sasuke to the end of the earth and back if he had too. That was just the way it was.

Sasuke eyes became cold again, and intently he spoke, "Naruto. Leave me be."

No. Never. He'd never let Sasuke go no matter what. "No. Sasuke, I'll bring back! We can fix it all! We can!" Though Naruto knew there'd be some problems, he believed they still could fix it. Sasuke could… come back.

"Don't be stupid. I've been a missing nin for the past several years. I've been in ties with Konoha's greatest enemy. You, as an ANBU are supposed to kill me the second you spot me." Sasuke flashed him a cruel smirk and said his words as if they were dipped in poison, "Isn't that right, Naruto?"

Naruto was tongue-tied. He didn't know what to say. Instead, he just watched Sasuke silently, hoping to think of someway to bring the Uchiha back. Finally, Sasuke spoke again, "I cannot go back to Konoha, I still have a goal to complete."

Oh yes. His goal. His brother. Naruto frowned, why didn't Sasuke see? See that they could do it together. They could defeat Itachi together. Sasuke… to watch Sasuke give into what his brother wanted angered Naruto; Sasuke was doing exactly what Itachi wanted him to do. And Sasuke played his part perfectly. "Sask-" He started to say before Sasuke interrupted him.

"Leave. Don't ever look for me again." The words were as cold as the way he turned and began to walk away.

No. _No fucking way in_ hell _ it'd end like this._

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled angrily, furious at the man. Sasuke stopped, not turning around, then he said; in a very direct manner "Naruto. Leave me be or else I will kill you." It wasn't an empty threat; Naruto could see that clearly but still he refused to let Sasuke go. No. He waited too long for this. He didn't wait and train all this time only to watch Sasuke leave all over again. The only difference this time is that he'd actually see Sasuke's back as he was walking away. No. He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't.

"Then..." Naruto, biting his lip, tried to put in words what he felt. "Then… at least.." Sasuke didn't turn around. Naruto's hands were balled into fists, clenched in frustration. "At least it'll be over! At least if you kill me then I don't have to chase after you! At least then, then I don't have to live every day knowing that you're out there and that I can't reach you!" Naruto looked at Sasuke, eyes hardened and with a fierce passion covered in ice he spoke. "At least then, I don't have to watch what you're going to become."

Sasuke didn't turn around and he kept his voice low. "Are you telling me you want me to kill you?"

Naruto was giving up? Somehow, this disgusted Sasuke. The Naruto he knew never gave up… had Naruto really changed that much? Truthfully, it wasn't that. Naruto was just fed up and frustrated by chasing after Sasuke. Every time he saw the man, his dream of bringing him back just seemed that much more unattainable. It seemed like all his actions and feelings were useless in the end. Everything he did to reach his goal seemed to not move him anywhere at all. It seemed like it didn't move him any closer to Sasuke.

"I never said that."

"Then, what are you exactly trying to say?" Sasuke asked harshly.

"I promised I'd chase after you as long as I live. I never break a promise." Naruto's eyes still locked with Sasuke's back; burning into him. "I'd rather you kill me than leave me all over again. If it takes my death to understand how much I care for you then..."

"Are you asking me to kill you?" Sasuke asked softly, just above a whisper. If Naruto's full attention hadn't been directed at Sasuke, he wouldn't have heard it.

"I can't chase you after I die, can I?" Naruto said half-smugly, for once knowing he was right.

Sasuke was silent, Naruto would be gone if he was dead. He'd never have to think of the blonde again or be forced to remember him. If he could break that final tie with the blonde, it would be over. Finally it would be over.

"No. You can't."

Sasuke then turned around, eyes cold, determined to finish this now so he wouldn't have to deal with it later. If Naruto was gone, it would all be so much easier. Life would be so much easier. No more emotions or pain, it would be completely dedicated to Itachi. It would be like Naruto never existed.

"Will you?" Naruto asked strongly. The unasked question of _Can you?_ hung darkly in the air.

"If I must." No hesitation was in Sasuke's voice.

"Do it."A dare. Naruto wanted proof. Proof that Sasuke could actually kill him. "...you can't." Naruto said, adding some fake smugness to his comment, purposely provoking him. "You couldn't kill me before. Why do you think you can do it now?"

No answer came from Sasuke as Naruto spoke, but the second after Naruto finished Sasuke had him pinned to the ground. His black eyes burned into Naruto. Why was it that the blue eyed ninja could get such a reaction out of him when countless others couldn't? It was then that his mind whispered a confession he already knew.

_Because you love him. He's your best friend. You cherish him. You care what he thinks of you_.

He glared at Naruto and forced all his anger on the blonde; trying to get rid of the whispers in the back of his mind.

"Remember what I said before when we met, Naruto. I saved you on a whim. I'm not even quite sure why I let you live. You're useless to me." Sasuke's words sounded cold and foreign, even to him. He wasn't even sure what the ending to this nightmare would be. Could he kill Naruto? Could he end his best friend's life? Yes. Sasuke still considered Naruto his best friend though it had been so long. The bond they had was just so strong. It was so hard to break.

The words stung Naruto, but still he didn't give up. "I know _you_, Sasuke. You let me live because you can't kill me. You care too much. You care about me too much!"

Sasuke's eyes darkened as he spat his words at Naruto, anger seeping from him. "_You_ don't know a thing about me! _I never cared for you; not in the slightest bit!_ If anything, you _ruined_ me! You almost took away my purpose to live!"

Naruto glared daggers at Sasuke, fed up and angry. "Ruined you?! You mean trying to save your ass! You mean that purpose of _living for your brother!_ You mean that purpose that makes you a _puppet_ in _his_ game!"

"Shut up."

It was laced with so much venom that Naruto actually fell silent.

"You don't understand! You never do! Don't speak to me as if you know the world Naruto! You've never lost someone you loved! You don't know what the hell it's like."

"Yes I have!" Naruto expression was so desperate that Sasuke felt a thread of pity in him. "_I. Lost. You._ Don't you see?! I lost you! Someone I loved! I understand Sasuke. I really do. But I don't let it stop me. You can't let it stop you either." Silence rang after that, Sasuke stared at Naruto for a second before he got a kunai out from a pocket on his leg. "I hate you. I hate you more than I hate him."

"Kill me then. If you kill one person you hate, will that be enough for you?" Naruto asked angrily. "Will you stop then?"

"It isn't about me! It's about my family, Naruto! It's for _them_!" Sasuke yelled, his voice starting to hurt from the yelling.

"Sasuke! You're a goddamn liar! This is more for you than anybody! You're a selfish bastard! You know what?!" Naruto said glaring at Sasuke, frustration and anger being the main emotion. i _You're. Just. Like._ **_Him!_** "

In an instant, blood spattered on Naruto's face. His blood.

Sasuke had stabbed him through the heart. Warm liquid ran everywhere, he could _feel_ the kunai embedded deep in his heart. "Sasuke…" He managed to choke out, staring up at the Uchiha. Sasuke turned his head towards Naruto, locking his gaze with Naruto's. Blood was spattered all over his face too. He subconsciously bit his lip as he stared at Naruto, as he stared at _Naruto dying_.

Naruto felt a tug come to his lips, a small smile. He chuckled a bit before he coughed up some blood, he couldn't believe Sasuke had actually did it. Sasuke stared at the blonde, wondering why the hell he was laughing at a time like this. "You're such a bastard." Naruto said teasingly, as if it was eight years ago when they were still happy.

"Shut up Dobe." Sasuke said quietly as he felt something in his chest squeeze. It hurt. Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke and before the Uchiha knew it, the blonde took him into a hug, one that somehow managed to be warm despite the situation. Sasuke's right shoulder was just below Naruto's heart, where the kunai was still embedded into it, his head was by crook of Naruto's neck and his body was slung over Naruto's.

"Just... let me hold you for a second." Naruto muttered as he squeezed Sasuke tight. Sasuke didn't move.

He could feel Naruto's blood seep through his clothes and on top his chest. He could hear Naruto's rapid pants, breathing his last few breaths. He could smell the stench of blood and sweat along with Naruto's own unique smell. He could taste nothing; the only thing in his mouth the he could feel was the huge lump in his throat.

He could see nothing but darkness as he closed his eyes tightly, not knowing what to do.

Then Naruto's breathing stopped. Sasuke waited a few second he sat up and looked into Naruto's dying blue eyes. At least, even if Naruto was dead, it was over. The hurting was over. The pain was over. The wondering was over. That was something for Naruto to be grateful for. _That it was over_. Using his last strength, he gave Sasuke a present.

His smile. He hoped Sasuke would keep it safe. Then everything suddenly dissolved into darkness.

"...Naruto?" Sasuke asked, his voice cracked, he then looked deeply into Naruto's eyes, his dull eyes, void of life. Sasuke looked at the blonde and scowled. Of course Naruto had to die with a smile on his face. Closing his eyes, Sasuke took deep breaths; trying to tell himself he didn't care. Trying to lie to himself one more time. Sasuke sat up, taking one last look at Naruto before quickly walking away. It was over. There was no reason for him to stay.

Now he could pretend that Naruto never existed.

Over time, Sasuke realized that Naruto was wrong. The blonde haunted him where ever he was. His memory haunted and chased Sasuke. After Naruto died, Sasuke remembered him and thought about him more than he ever did before. Of course, Naruto was always wrong. Sasuke sometimes wishes that he never killed him when he wakes up from a dream – no, it was a nightmare to see him again - of Naruto. Who knew that Naruto could be more of a distraction when he was dead than when he was alive?

Naruto may have been turned into a fake memory, but it was a memory that was all too real to him, a memory that even Uchiha Sasuke couldn't erase.


End file.
